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Author Topic: Air horn on the DSR 2016  (Read 2456 times)

Ethestral

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Air horn on the DSR 2016
« on: November 07, 2016, 09:50:12 AM »

I tried mounting the Screaming Banshee horn and haven't found a spot that worked well. The complete unit is too tall to fit any where except under the seat on the GIVI rack. I think that location feeds it too much mud and road-gross. Worth noting the horn is loud enough to work from under there. I tried it behind the head lamp as seen in the first photo. I used brackets to make more space behind the headlight. The pivot pushed the windscreen back and the headlight assembly was a little askew when closed up (longer brackets maybe).  Doing this pointed the headlight the moon, I did not take the time to adjust the lamp back down so I can't be sure there is enough pivot to put the beam back on the roadway. Not awesome. Four brackets instead of two would fix the problems but I'm trying to be less invasive with the install.

Screaming banshee tucked behind the headlight assembly.  Pushed beam too far up back to drawing board. by Ethestral, on Flickr

Figured I would mount some old broken stuff and see if it worked. Used a Stebel Nautilus, snapped at the clip that holds the horn onto the compressor (happens when you run them on a dual sport in the winter). The pieces still work but you have to zip tie them together to get blast that still sounds wheezy or silent depending on your tie skills. By separating them I was able to fit everything without changing the nose of the DSR. The horn portion and almost perfectly snaps around the fork tube. Then I set to work mounting the compressor nearby. I used some clear plastic tubing (3/8" outside diameter, 1/4" ID) and silicone to join the two parts. The shorter you keep the plastic tubing, the faster the horn sounds and sharper the initial blast should be. I had a hard time finding a solid ground so I cheated and pulled it from the headlight socket. I converted to an LED so I know the draw on the circuit won't be taxed by the extra load from the horn relay (someone with actual electrical engineering knowledge here please correct me if I'm off base or messing things by cross-feeding the electrical system)

20161106_125044 by Ethestral, on Flickr
top left to right
Headlight socket, tapped for solid ground. Relay supporting the far end of the compressor (low left). Compressor is the cylinder mounted in the middle (drilled one hole in the lower headlight support to mount). Far right, blocking the view of the fork tube is the horn unit.

All buttoned up left side
20161106_143155 by Ethestral, on Flickr

All buttoned up right side
20161106_143215 by Ethestral, on Flickr

In case you didn't see the wiki from Semper Why on how to tap the fusebox before it hits the factory fuses you can read it here
http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Common_Modifications#New_Circuits

Its solid, yes the pro tip is to remove the 3mm screw most inboard on the bike and pivot the block down to spring the plug from the top. I double checked on my bike to see that the feed to the fuse block came from the top not the bottom of the block.

20161030_154238 by Ethestral, on Flickr

This is where I pulled my hot to feed the relay, I do worry a little that I will over load the 14ga wire feeding this single fuse. However I see a horn blast as a momentary event. On my build that circuit is only feeding a two amp USB charger, and the fuse on the horn lead that I added is a 10amp. I am only overrunning the designed load by 20% on a momentary basis. If I add heated gear I will need to reconsider my voltage feed, stumble deeper into the depths of the black box on my go fast machine.
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Ethestral

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2016, 10:04:00 AM »

Forgot to add two important things that made the install work.

The relay is on a four wire relay receiver block, like one of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JUN8F2W?psc=1

I took a lighter and heated/reformed two of the ribs to allow the compressor to nest on one side, and the bend in the headlight bracket to nest on the other. Maybe a total indent of 3/16" but it allowed the compressor to be square to the headlight bracket and not twist the bracket when tightened down.

I added split wire loom to protect the wires leaving the relay wiring block from being pinched by turning the front wheel to full lock facing left. It's not a huge risk but I figured my luck would scrape thin if I didn't cover my bum here.
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clay.leihy

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2016, 11:57:02 AM »

Maybe you need drop bars to mount the horn on. Then you can add some running lights as well.
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Clay
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Semper Why

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2016, 01:39:09 AM »

Very clever! Looks good.
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Low On Cash

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2016, 07:38:08 AM »

Very nice installation - Where did you pick up your ground - on the chassis or is there a lug for the 12 volt fuse bar
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Ethestral

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2016, 08:01:32 AM »

I picked the ground off of the head lamp.  I converted it to led previously,  so I'm not over cooking the lead.  The trouble is is a 15 amp draw on the factory 10 amp circuit.  So I haven't froe anything yet,  I also haven't found a good source for 12v supply  I can run 14ga  wire to (with an inline fuse)
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Delnari

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2016, 03:52:25 AM »

I looked at getting an air horn last night after a big SUV came over on me and tried to sandwich me between them and a jersey wall.  I see a lot of the horns need 15-20 amps to work so I order a FIAMM High Note that is plug-n-play from the stock horn and it's location.  No additional relay or extra wiring needed.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2016, 06:40:48 AM by Delnari »
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BrianTRice@gmail.com

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2016, 04:47:53 AM »

This and a couple of other threads are linked from the wiki now:
http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Common_Modifications#Horn
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Current: 2020 DSR, 2012 Suzuki V-Strom
Former: 2016 DSR, 2013 DS

Ethestral

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2017, 02:22:02 AM »

I wanted to update the internet on this one, it's been a while. The sideways mounting is not recommended by the manufacturer. The compressor has gotten weaker and weaker as I continue to use my moto and its lively noise maker. I haven't trouble-shot to see if its the nylon air delivery hose expanding/leaking or the compressor slowly dying. Either way the horn is more squeak and less honk these days. When I finish my new rack set up the horn will be mounted to the rack frame near the rear wheel, outside of the suspension travel area.
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hubert

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Re: Air horn on the DSR 2016
« Reply #9 on: April 27, 2017, 04:55:32 AM »

There is a much cheaper, lighter and easier to install alternative, still very loud! It comes from the bicycle world and is called "airzound". It's made in Canada, not China! No compressor, no electricity, only a bottle that you refill with a bicycle pump or any compressor/air station, since it has a standard schrader valve, same as tyres. On one load you get a "range" of 20 to 40 shots. Of course the sound is steady, no melody, but terrific! Only constrain, the horn is part of the pneumatic pushbutton and must be on the handlebar. The bottle can be elsewhere due to the plastic hose in between.
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